Race Across America 2005

Wed May 11 2005
Posted May 11, 2005
7,026

The Race Across America is only six weeks away. Last year's winner, Juré Robic, is going for the transcon record. Rob Kish, racing in his 20th RAAM (!), is racing against Bob Breedlove (of Iowa) - for the age 50+ record! Kern Wheelman are back for their 7th RAAM, to take "their" team record back. The story below and attached gives the details. We'd appreciate you publishing it. And, of course, trim it if you need to! Many thanks! John Hughes Director, UltraMarathon Cycling Association, Inc PO Box 18028 Boulder, CO 80308 www.ultracycling.com RAAM '05: A Race for the Great By John Hughes Follow the race progress at www.raceacrossamerica.org. "Since 1982 the Race Across America has brought together the best endurance cyclists to compete in the world's toughest race. Racing in RAAM is more than a cycling event. The physical extremes test the limits of any rider. The logistics and planning will challenge the sanity of any support team. The emotional highs and lows will be remembered by everyone involved." - Lon Haldeman Relentlessly flying across the country, alternating 30 minute time trials, over 60 such pulls per rider, never more than 90 minutes off the bike to recover-Team Action Sports was going for the four-man RAAM record. For RAAM 2004 Kerry Ryan had recruited three experienced road racers. Ryan and Action Sports had two RAAM wins, but the record was held by the rival Kern Wheelmen. Action Sports led across California and Arizona, but then fell behind Team Vail-Go Fast. Vail-Go Fast was four expert mountain bikers looking for a new adventure. They took on RAAM in 2001 and won. In 2004 Vail-Go Fast traded the lead with Action Sports all the way to West Virginia. Action Sports won the duel and set a new RAAM record by seven minutes, averaging 23.06 mph. They won $25,000 in prize money made up of the first-place prize and the bonus for breaking the record. Five days later Randy Van Zee crossed the finish line in Atlantic City. In Ohio he had fallen and after the race was diagnosed with a cracked pelvis. His neck muscles had failed and his head rested on his chest. He stood astride his bike, with feet swollen out of his shoes, for a few minutes until someone realized that he couldn't lift his leg to dismount. Van Zee was the last finisher, having covered 2,959 miles in 11 days 16 hours. The fierce competition of Action Sports and Vail and the iron-willed desire of Van Zee bracket the RAAM experience. RAAM draws a diverse field: 120 men and women from a dozen countries, age 18 to 60. Each asks: "Will my race be like Action Sports' or more like Van Zee's?" On Sunday morning, June 19, 24 solo racers will leave San Diego. Each racer hopes for a fast crossing to Atlantic City, but also wonders "how badly will I hurt?" For some, the pain will be too great and they will drop. On Tuesday afternoon, June 21, 96 team riders will start, racing as two-person, four-person, or eight-person relay teams. Joe Petersen will be lining up for his seventh team race. He knows what's ahead: "In RAAM, I have found a journey like no other, it's not just a journey across our great country, but an inner journey of self discovery." In solo RAAM Slovenian Juré Robic is racing to break Pete Penseyres'19-year old average speed record of 15.40 mph. In only his second RAAM, Robic won last year averaging 14.66 mph. He has the racing speed; he is the UltraMarathon Cycling Association's 24-hour record holder, having covered 522 miles (non-drafting) last September. The time to beat on the 2005 course is 8 days 5 hours 51 minutes. If Robic can race from San Diego to Atlantic City that fast, he'll win $10,000 for breaking the record! RAAM legend Rob Kish will be riding in his 20th RAAM! Kish has won the race three times and finished on the podium 12 times! Kish has just turned 50 and will be trying for the age 50+ transcontinental record. Kish will have to beat Dr. Bob Breedlove, 53, who holds the 50+ transcontinental record and also the record for a double transcontinental. The time to beat on the 2005 course is 10d 8h 32m. Joe Petersen and the Kern Wheelmen bring years of experience and blazing speed to the race and badly want to take back the four-man record. A serious roadblock stands in their way, however, in Team Beaver Creek. Beaver Creek includes three riders who were on 2004's second place Team Vail. The time to beat on the 2005 course is 5d 12h 8m. Three of the four Border-to-Border Divas are returning this year. The women mountain bike racers turned roadies averaged 17.69 mph last year, just short of the 18.57 mph four-woman record. They'll be trying to go under 6d 20h 5m to set a new transcontinental this year. The two-person relay provides the perfect combination of the speed and tactics of team racing with the ultra aspect of solo RAAM. The two-man field includes five teams. Team RAAM veterans Peter Dammerer and Peter Schwab are back as Team Lower Austria-City of Krems. Dominique Briand and Pascal Pechallat, Team Crazy Gones, both qualified for solo RAAM at the tough French qualifier that includes Mont Ventoux. Cancer survivor Fred Boethling and Dan Crain have teamed up to compete in the 60 + division. Three two-person mixed teams are entered: Team Endorphins combines the mental toughness and pacing ability of Shanna Armstrong and speed of Guy Wells. RAAM veterans Iva Hradilova and John Wagoner are racing as Grupo Guapo. The Free Riders from Colorado, Jarmila Gorman and John DeLello should excel when the race gets to the mountains. This race will come down to logistics, efficiency and who handles the West Virginia climbs the best. No lead is safe in this division until the finish line is crossed. Racers on the eight-person corporate teams are weekend warriors; nonetheless, they are just as competitive as the other divisions-last year Ride to Remember beat Insight by just two hours, and Rim to Rim finished just 22 minutes behind Insight! In 2005 four corporate teams are entered. Team Donate Life has the star power of former speed skating gold medallist and professional cyclist Eric Heiden but Team Insight has two year's experience: first in '03, second in '04. Both teams will be trying for the eight-person record, set by Ride to Remember last year, 19.84 mph which would be 6d 9h 35m on the 2005 course. INSIGHT RAAM KEY FACTS Start Line Solo Banquet Saturday, June 18th, 5:00 p.m. at the San Diego Holiday Inn, 1355 N. Harbor Dr. Guest speaker, entertainment, introductions of riders and a great buffet. Tickets at the RAAM web store-everyone welcome. Start Line Team Banquet Monday, June 20th, 6:00 p.m. at the San Diego Holiday Inn, 1355 N. Harbor Dr. Guest speaker, entertainment, introductions of riders and a great buffet-tickets available at the RAAM web store. Start Sunday, June 19 at 7:00 a.m. (PDT): Solo Men and Women Tuesday, June 21 at 2:00 p.m. PDT: Two-, Four-, and Corporate Eight-Person Teams RAAM will begin in downtown San Diego, California, on the waterfront alongside the host hotel, the Holiday Inn-On the Bay. Finish Week of June 26, 2005 at the Boardwalk at Kennedy Plaza, in front of Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey. Team riders will finish as early as Sunday, June 26th. The first solo riders are expected by Tuesday, June 28th. Riders must finish by noon, Friday, July 1st. Course Racers will travel 3,051 miles and climb 109,000 feet. RAAM leaves San Diego and immediately attacks one of the longest climbs of the race and then plunges to the desert. After several hundred miles of very hot riding, the course climbs back to cooler Flagstaff, Arizona. After racing through the magnificent Monument Valley of southern Utah, the riders will face RAAM's classic trio of mammoth passes: Wolf Creek, La Veta and Cucharas. High passes give way to a daunting horizon: the high plains of eastern Colorado, leading to the rolling hills of Kansas and into Missouri where the rollers become more significant. Just north of St Louis, the racers cross the Mississippi and can start thinking of the finish line. After slicing across Illinois and Indiana, the riders head through Ohio farming country. The Appalachians are the next challenge: east of Cumberland three very tough climbs make tired legs scream. Even after these are behind the riders, the Pennsylvania Dutch countryside will not let them rest. Not until the racers have shuttled across the Delaware River outside Wilmington does the road finally flatten out, shortly before the racers finish their epic journey across the US on the famous Historic Boardwalk in Atlantic City, NJ. TV and Web Coverage Round the clock race updates at www.raceacrossamerica.org NBC Sports will broadcast this year's race special at a future airdate. Awards Wednesday, June 29th, 6:00 p.m. at Kennedy Plaza on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City. Awards dinner with entertainment. Tickets available at the RAAM web store. Prize List $175,000 in cash and merchandise will be awarded as prizes, including $40,000 cash for solo and team riders. The Race Across America is sanctioned by the UltraMarathon Cycling Association. For more information on endurance riding go to: www.ultracycling.com